


Dean and Cas and Zeke and Moose

by sconesandtextingandmurder



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Are Awesome, Fluff, M/M, dean is lonely, guinea pigs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-26
Updated: 2014-02-26
Packaged: 2018-01-13 21:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1241398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sconesandtextingandmurder/pseuds/sconesandtextingandmurder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas meet over guinea pigs.  What more do you need to know?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dean and Cas and Zeke and Moose

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this adorable Cas/Dean/guinea pig post](http://artcicles.tumblr.com/post/74264931659/you-know-what-would-make-my-life-if-you-drew-cas) by [ artcicles](http://artcicles.tumblr.com/) and was inspired to write a fic to go with it.

Dean woke slowly, glad for a Saturday and the chance to sleep late.  He’d have to make coffee, he thought, since the small apartment was quiet.  Sam must not be up yet.

The realization jarred him fully awake:  Sam was gone.  It had been five days since he’d left for Stanford to start law school.  Dean was prouder than he could say, but this was his first weekend alone and he missed the hell out of his (not-so) little brother. 

He got up and dressed and wandered into the kitchen, holding the empty coffee pot in his hand for a long time before setting it down and grabbing his jacket.  He walked to the neighborhood coffee shop and got a cup of coffee to go, but even with the warmth of it in his hands and the caffeine coursing through his veins, he didn’t feel ready to face the empty apartment. 

He kept walking until he found himself outside a building he’d passed countless times but never entered.  It was an adoption center for an animal rescue organization.  Growing up, Dean and Sam had moved around too much for pets to be an option, but now Dean was likely as settled as he was ever going to get.   _No harm in looking_ , he thought, as he pulled the door open. 

The sound of barking dogs and excited children hit him like a wave.  Couples and parents with kids swarmed around making him feel even more alone, the exact opposite of a family.  This was a stupid idea.   _You’re just here to look_ , he told himself again.  He took a deep breath and considered his options.  His schedule was too erratic for a dog and he was pretty sure a single man with a cat was the beginning of an inevitable downhill slide to crazy cat lady (crazy cat guy?).  He was turning to leave when a sign marked “Small Pets” caught his eye.

He followed the signs to a quieter part of the building and stepped into a small room with cages on one side and glass tanks on the other.  Only a few people lingered here, and a dark haired man sat behind the counter answering questions.  Dean wandered past the cages of gerbils and hamsters, smiling at the way they burrowed and piled on top of each other.  He watched as a hamster ran so fast on a wheel that it toppled off only to jump up and climb right back on.  A large bunny sat in another cage, looking like a slipper come to life.

He moved to the other side of the room where reptiles were on display.  Snakes, turtles, and lizards all peered back at him.  Now,  _these_  were cool pets.  Definitely the kind of thing a single guy could have without looking lonely.    As he stood there, the room emptied and the man from behind the counter approached him.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”  Dean turned around.  The man was wearing a deep blue smock identifying him as an employee and oddly the first thing Dean noticed was that his eyes matched the smock.  The second thing he noticed was a small ball of caramel colored fur curled up against the man’s neck.

“Uh, you’ve got a little something on your…”  Dean tried for a joke but the man didn’t look amused.  He lifted the animal gently from his shoulder and held it against his chest, face out.

“This is Moose.  He’s a guinea pig.”  Dean looked down at Moose’s shiny black eyes. He looked completely content in the man’s hands, taking in Dean from this new vantage point.  Dean hadn’t thought about guinea pigs in forever, but now he remembered Sam’s third grade teacher had kept one as the class pet.  Sam was forever dragging Dean in to see it after school and he’d (unsuccessfully) begged their dad to let them keep it over school holidays.

“Hello, Moose,” said Dean, waggling his fingers at it in greeting.   _Did he just wave at a guinea pig?_

“Were you interested in adopting a small animal?”  asked the man, who was wearing a name tag that read Castiel.

“Um, I’m just sort of looking,” Dean answered.  “I live in an apartment so I was thinking something small would be good.”  He turned again to the wall of reptiles.  “I’m living alone right now, so I thought it might be nice to have some company.”

“I wouldn’t recommend getting a pet as a…. _rebound_  measure.” 

Dean turned to face Castiel. “It’s not like that.” Although he wasn’t sure why it was any of this guy’s business.  “My brother moved out.  He left for graduate school. “  He couldn’t help adding,  “At Stanford.”

“I see,” Castiel tilted his head as he studied the tanks.  He pet Moose with one hand while the other continued to support his little furry bottom.  The guinea pig’s fur was short, but there was a patch on the top of his head that stuck straight up.  Dean thought he heard a faint chewing sound, but Moose wasn’t eating anything.  “Reptiles are fascinating pets but they don’t provide much in the way of companionship.” 

 

Dean had already started to get that feeling from the glass walls that separated them.   Absently, Castiel lifted Moose up so that his head was tucked under his chin. 

“Well, what about Moose here?”  Dean wasn’t sure why he’d said it.  He’d just come to look.

“Guinea pigs make excellent companions.  They’re loving and responsive pets. I’d venture to say they give back about as much as they get.”  He squinted a little at Dean, his gaze slightly hardened.  “But they do require a lot of maintenance.”

Dean bristled at the implication, but he tried to keep it from showing on his face.  He’d nearly single-handedly raised his baby brother; he figured he could manage two pounds of fluffy fur and little claws.  “I think I can handle it.”

“Also,” Castiel held Moose out towards Dean with a little nod, as if Dean had asked to hold him.  Dean cupped his hands and felt the warm little body nestle into them.  Instinctively, he held the guinea pig close to his body.  Castiel was reaching into the large front pocket of his smock.  He pulled out another guinea pig, this one with beautiful silvery fur. The piece of carrot in its mouth explained the chewing Dean had heard.  “He’s part of a bonded pair.   _This_  is Zeke.  I wouldn’t dream of separating them.” 

Moose began to lean forward in Dean’s hands, sniffing towards Zeke.    Castiel stepped forward until he was toe to toe with Dean, bringing Zeke and Moose close together.  Dean watched as they happily nuzzled their little noses and Moose licked the side of Zeke’s face.  When Dean looked up, Castiel was staring right at him with those unearthly blue eyes, a gaze intense enough to freeze Dean in place and cause his pulse to jump erratically.  It wasn’t until he felt the prickle of tiny claws that he tore his eyes away and looked down to see Moose trying to climb from his hands back to Zeke.  Castiel reached forward to take Moose from him and Dean felt a shiver run through him as their fingers brushed. 

“So, what do you say?”

“I’ll take them.” 

Castiel smiled at him and Dean wondered why it felt like a stamp of approval.  “Come on over here and I’ll get you the adoption forms.” 

Dean followed him to the counter, taking Zeke this time when Castiel went into the back room.  Zeke was a bit smaller than Moose, but his ears were bigger and his fur was smoother.  He could feel Zeke’s tiny heart fluttering in his chest.   _Yeah, me too, little guy,_  thought Dean as he watched Castiel gathering the paperwork with his one free hand. 

“You’re going to need supplies,” said Castiel.  “We have starter kits here, if you’d like.”  Dean nodded and scrambled to take Moose into his arms as well while Cas returned to the back room and came out with a large box containing a cage and a water bottle.  “I don’t really recommend this type of a set up long term, but it will be fine for now.”  He went to the storeroom again, coming out with three more packages.  “Ok, bedding, food pellets, and timothy hay,” he said as if it were completely obvious what they were for.  “And there’s a sample of vitamin drops in the cage.”

“Um,” said Dean.  “I walked here.  I think I may need to go get my car.”  What the hell had happened?  He’d come in here to look and suddenly he needed a pack mule to get home again.  On the plus side, this was the longest he’d gone without thinking about Sam since he’d left. 

“You live in the neighborhood?” asked Castiel.  “So do I. “ He looked down at the paperwork, then back up at Dean shyly.  “I’m done here at noon so if you’d like, I could help carry things and show you how to get the cage set up.” 

“I’d like that,” said Dean. 

 


End file.
